


Pyrrhic Victory

by Wolf_Queen_101



Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Threesome - F/M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-16 01:20:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29692827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolf_Queen_101/pseuds/Wolf_Queen_101
Summary: in which a student in class e refused to assassinate their teacher•" why would i kill my teacher?i came here to prove a point,not kill an oversized yellow octopus. "
Relationships: Akabane Karma/Asano Gakushuu, Akabane Karma/Original Character(s), Asano Gakushuu/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 10





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This book is originally written on wattpad under the username @wolf_queen_101. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy :)

**rina izumi**  
the youngest out of the soulmate trio  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


known for her intimidating beauty and her unfathomable knowledge. her ability to grasp and absorb the information taught in school was daunting to her teachers **—** but they loved her nonetheless. she was their star student.

however, her cold personality deterred people away from away, causing them to fear her. she didn't care much. with her soulmates by her side, she was as content as can be. everything in her life was going perfectly **—**

until it wasn't.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


they told her that she was their finest pupil, that those at the bottom of the mountain were lost causes. they told her it was a waste of time. they told her her story was written in the sky, but rina would bow down to none. she went to the heavens and crushed each one with her bare palms.

stars have no power over her.

the night sky is hers now, and she'll carve it with her own constellations.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


relationships shattered, lovers torn apart **—**  
this story will tell a tale of rina izumi:  
the brightest star of them all.


	2. Zero

**EYES LINGERED ON THE DIVINE BEING** waltzing into school. Hungrily, they took in her form: eyes of liquid fire, flecked with a plethora of scarlet shades, luscious dark locks flowing majestically above her shoulders like a serene waterfall, pure, untainted skin **—** Rina Izumi was absolutely breathtaking.

Making her way through Kunugigaoka Junior High School, Rina imbued elegance and confidence, surrounded by a steadiness that made it seem as if all the storms in the world were a whispering breeze within her presence. She walked along the hallway, bearing a blasé expression while dressed in the assigned uniform, somehow making the bland outfit exquisite. Whispers rolled off the loitering students' tongues, gossiping to their friends about the recent news that broke out.

Rina Izumi, the smartest girl in school, was transferring to Class E.

How did it happen? Well, allow me to take you back a few days.

Rina laid on her bed, focusing her attention on the book in her hand. Her eyes trailed across each line, absorbing the words into her brain and processing them, storing new information away for times where she would later need it.

Arms circled around her, and a chin rested atop her head. A smile curled at her lips, and Rina relaxed in her red-haired soulmate's hold, the tension in her shoulders dissipating as a thumb drew circles along her hip.

How lucky Rina was to have two loving soulmates, although they did start off rocky, with the two males despising each other. She tired her hardest to bring them together. Still, they both stubbornly denied the bond, refusing to associate themselves with each other **—** Gakushu hated how ruthless and troublesome Karma was. In contrast, the said redhead hated how strict and arrogant the other was.

Thankfully, they decided to put their differences aside in their second year, relieving the stress that made itself comfortable in Rina's head in their first year of junior school due to their petty jealousy. She was utterly grateful. You see, in their first year, both boys wanted Rina to themselves. They'd drag her away from the other, argue about her in front of her, and talk bad about the other when she was there. It was hella stressful, but she loved them dearly. She just wished they'd see behind the mask they both wore.

Eventually, in their second year, the two finally noticed how tired she was becoming, the bags under her eyes growing since she couldn't sleep, spending her time either studying or overthinking, sometimes both, and that led to cataclysmic outcomes. They knew they weren't helping, so they decided to spend time together, sucking it up for the sake of their soulmate.

"Do you have any plans for this weekend?" Gakushu asked his soulmate once class had ended for the day. The two sat at the front, the strongest students out of the lot. Rina shook her head, gathering her papers and placing them into her book. "Good. Akabane and I have planned **–** " Rina's eyes widened in shock, her brain unable to register any other word that came out of his mouth."...Rina? Are you alright?"

A broad grin broke out onto her face, and she nodded.

That day was one of the bests for her. The three spent the whole day together; no arguments or fight occurred except for the one about who would pay (Gakushu and Karma won, obviously). Rina was absolutely ecstatic to see the boys develop their own relationship, even if it was for her sake.

Though, by the summer of their second year, they were all very much in love **—** with Rina and each other. They spent almost all day together, growing closer and closer as time passed by. The day they uttered three sacred words would always be imprinted into their minds, along with the feeling of pure euphoria.

"What are you thinking about?" Rina was brought out of her memories by Karma, who brushed his lips against her ear. A shiver ran up her spine before she relaxed, tilting her head back and locking eyes with the boy she was madly in love with.

Gold waves crash over each other, hints of mischief shining amongst them. As she stared, she could feel herself become hypnotised by the changing colours.

"You," she answered.

Karma smiled, and the spots of gold danced in his irises, framed by thick, dark eyelashes. 

"Care to clarify?"

Rina placed her book down and nuzzled her face into his neck, humming fairly.

"Well, I was **—** "

The door to her room slammed open, and both their gazes flew over to see an irritated Gakushu, exuding anger. His violet eyes narrowed onto his soulmates, flaring lividly. 

Rina sat up in concern. "Gaku **—**?"

"Did you seriously beat up another student?" Karma rolled his eyes insouciantly, returning back to the relaxed position he was in before (with the exception of his arms now by his side instead of around Rina).

Rina turned to look at the silent redhead in surprise. "Karma?"

"What if I did?"

Gakushu's eyes hardened, a raging fire blazing in his pupils.

"Do you have any idea what the ramifications are?! You beat up attacked a third year!"

The tension in the room suffocated the black-haired beauty. She watched wearily, hesitating to intervene as the two exploded, yelling over each other. Gakushu went off on a tangent, berating his older soulmate for acting foolishly for the defence of a Class E student. His reputation was now tarnished, and he was being transferred to Class E in the upcoming year. Karma, however, could care less. The argument they shared was dauntingly cold, terrifying Rina. Every word was over-pronounced, slicing rather than tumbling through the still air.

Gakushu's face mottled crimson, his violet eyes popping and his neck straining. The words he spat out were laced with ferocity, packing a punch. Karma's uncaring attitude finally simmered his fuse, fizzing like a firework in a chill autumn breeze until he exploded with unrestrained fury, spewing words that hit the mark.

As soulmates, they knew each other's weaknesses. And Gakushu brutally brought his all up.

Karma scoffed, face contouring with disbelief and resentment, concealing the hurt propagating through his chest. "I'm not going to hear this from you of all people." He got up from the bed and left the house, purposely bashing his shoulder against Asano's on the way out.

"Karma! Wait!" Rina jumped from the bed, wincing when she heard her front door slam shut.

She turned to Asano.

The way her eyes squinted when she glared at him reminded him of a pit viper's slit-like pupils. He gulped nervously. A burning animosity developed in her scarlet orbs, and he could tell he was likely the root cause of the problem.

"Seriously?"

"Rina **—** "

"You know how sensitive he is to arguing!" she yelled, the need to break something increasing as she stared at the male with indignation and incredulity.

Guilt churned in Asano's stomach. Yes, he was aware of the sensitivity Karma had with arguments due to his parents and their constants disagreements. But he couldn't contain it. He was infuriated with the redhead.

Rina exhaled frustratedly. "Yes, what he did was wrong, but he was defending a student."

Gakushu scoffed, disgust apparent on his face as he spat, "a Class E student."

"That doesn't make them lesser than us."

His eyes snapped towards her, and Rina just knew that this was going to end just as badly.

And it did. The three soulmates' relationship fell apart in under ten minutes, all because they shared different beliefs. None of them talked to each other; none of them tried too. They took their own time to cool down, to absorb and process what just happened. Don't get me wrong, though. Their love hadn't gone; it's just distorted into a close mimic of hatred, and just as love endures, so would the wall of bitterness that separated them, growing more thorns every day.

That year, Rina purposely failed all her exams, deciding that she was going to prove her point to her soulmate. Class E was just as good as they were **—** they were humans with lots of potential too.

She was going to help them rise to the top.


	3. One

**"NOW, THEN,"** called a frankly large yellow octopus, dressed in a black academic dress, a small black squarish academic cap with a yellow tassel, and a large black tie with a yellow crescent-shaped moon on it. "Let's begin homeroom. Class monitor, on your command."

"S-Stand!" The students in the worn-down classroom all stood, whipping out their guns and pointing them at the monster before them. "Attention! Bow!"

Shots were fired, empty barrels plummeting to the floor.

"Good morning. I'll be taking attendance, so please, fire all you like."

Korosensei, at an inhuman speed, dodged the pink bullets aimed at him. With the attendance book in his hand, he began rollcall, calling all his students' names out and marking them as present in his book.

"All right." Korosensei shut the book with a big grin. "Everyone on time, I see. Excellent!" A peach colour washed over his face, a large circle printed on the front to show his glee. "That makes me very happy."

"He's way too fast," whined Rio Nakamura, standing with a hip jutted to one side, her right arm draped across her slender body, clasping the elbow opposite. Her head lolled down to one shoulder, casting her blonde hair over the pale yellow school blazer.

"So even the whole class at once couldn't bring him down?" Yuma Isogai muttered, lowering the gun in his arms, eyes searching their teacher for any injuries **—** even a scrape would suffice.

Every student stared at Korosensei dejectedly, disappointed that nothing happened. Out of the countless attempts on taking his life, none of them succeeded **—** hell! None of them managed to land a hand on him. He was fucking powerful.

How were they going to kill him by March?

"Not the whole class. Izumi-San!" The students turned to the beauty sitting at the back of the class. Her hair shone like the sea at night, the black strands utterly white where the bright sun's rays fell. As she moved her head, so did those brilliant bands, like echoes of the northern lights. With eyes of scarlet fires, her aura seeped into the spring air of the classroom in glossy serenity. She looked at her teacher, the gun sitting idly on her desk, untouched. "Why didn't you participate?!"

"I see no need for such activities," she spoke, the sound of her voice a compliment to the stillness that surrounded her.

Korosensei sighed dramatically, opting not to pester the darkette today. No matter what they tried, Rina never picked up her gun to attempt and shoot their teacher, nor would she ever. Her response was always the same:

_no._

"Not one of your bullets hit me today, either," begun Korosensei. "Tactics that rely on sheer numbers neglect individual focus. Be it line of sight, barrel position, or finger movement, each of you was far too easy to read. You need to be more inventive. Otherwise, you'll never be able to kill me. I can speed up to Mach 20, you know?"

"But, like, see," protested Hiroto Maehara, still slightly out of breath after they used up all their ammo to shoot the nuisance in front of them, "there's no way you seriously dodged all; of those!"

"I mean, these _are_ just BB pellets." Tomohito Sugino held the pellet above his head, squinting and scrutinizing the purple ball. "You coulda just taken them on the chin."

"Yeah! That's right!" chorused the class, all agreeing and trying to find an excuse as to why they failed.

"Very well. Gather up the BBs and hand them over." Korosensei, his grin never faltering, reached for the gun in one of the girls' hand. "I told you: these may be harmless to you **–** " he shot his tentacle, a yellow slime-like substance squirting everywhere while the limb fell _splat_ on the ground, surprising all of them **–** "but they're special anti-me BB pellets developed by the government. If one hits me, it'll slice right through my cells like tofu. They'll regenerate a few seconds later, of course." He glanced down at his tentacle, watching it grow back. "I'm more concerned about you putting a classmate's eyes out. No shooting in the classroom unless you're trying to kill me."

Rina's lips quirked upwards, returning her gaze to her book.

_Now, who could kill such a considerate teacher?_

Korosensei's face changed colours, becoming a yellow and green striped sphere. His mouth broadened into a menacing, smug grin. "And I do hope you _can_ kill me **—** before graduation, that is."

If not for the destruction of the world, Rina was sure her class would kill the octopus because of his egotistical, pompous self.

"Now then **–** " he reverted back to his regular face **–** "let's put away the arms and ammunition and begin class." Groans escaped the students' throat as they put their guns away and slipped into their chairs.

_At Class 3-E of Kunugigaoka Junior High School, the assassination classroom, the bell signals the start of another school day._   
  
  


◑ ━━━━━ ▣ ━━━━━ ◐  
  
  


"Now, here's the question..."

As Korosensei taught English to Class 3-E, Rina Izumi sat at her school desk with a book clutched in her hand, one with several hundreds of crisp white pages, each gentle to the fingertips. Upon them was both the wisdom and insanity of the author's soul. The book in her hands was titled 'Pride and Prejudice', a novel written in 1813 by an English author named Jane Austen.

The book was an enthralling one, following the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreciate the difference between superficial goodness and actual goodness. That book, it was only accomplished and thriving because of the writer's imaginative and poetic mind. The humble ink spread across the pages —although now printed— was the liveliness of Austen's brain. Rina could imagine how her synapses danced and zapped around as she came up with such phenomenal and innovative ideas.

Absorbing the words on the paper, Rina was sucked into the novel. The dark-haired girl zoned the world out, willing her imagination to take over, picturing the characters and the surroundings all in her head. It bewildered her how something as casual as reading could leave such an impact on an individual.

Perhaps that was why she indulged in the act. When she read, Rina forgot about everything around her. All worries and dreaded thoughts dissipated the moment the book was flipped open.

The bell for lunch rang, a melodious sound that brought relief and joy to those that heard it as it put a pause to lessons for the day. "Ah, lunchtime!"

Korosensei wiggled over to the window, his tentacles making obnoxious _squishy_ noises as he moved. "I'll just pop over to China for some mapo tofu," he informed the class, grinning brightly as he slid the window open. "If anyone would like to try assassinating me, just call me on my cell." With that, he launched himself out of the classroom, the speed at which he did caused everyone to cover their faces due to the high pressure.

"Uh, let's see, if he's travelling at Mach 20, it'll take maybe ten minutes to get to Sichuan, the home of mapo tofu," estimated Megu Kataoka. Rina tore her eyes away from her captivating book, glancing at the class' female representative. Her analysis was spot on for a girl who deemed herself stupid.

"Guess no missile could shoot _that_ down."

"Heck, that octopus even grades tests while he breaks the sound barrier!"

"Seriously?!"

"He even did a little drawing on mine," sweatdropped Isogai, recalling the marked test he got back.

"Isn't he actually a pretty good teacher, though?"

"He is!" exclaimed Hinano Kurahashi, remembering the extra tutoring she received. "I aced my math test thanks to his after-school tutoring!"

"Yeah, but...we are the E Class."

"Tryin' our best won't do much," commented Taiga Okajima, hands cradling the back of his head while he leant back in his chair. He stared up at the ceiling with a forced smile spread across his lips. A sudden depressing eeriness settled upon the classroom.

Rina frowned.

She didn't like their constant pessimism. Although she did understand where they were coming from. The moment they were placed in this class was the moment they were deemed unworthy by the rest of the school.

Nonetheless! Rina was here to prove that they weren't. She was going to help them rise to the top, with or without the help of their octopus teacher.

"Hey, Nagisa." The voice of Ryoma Terasaka piqued Rina's interests. "Come with us. It's time to put our assassination plan into action."

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

_Since when did Terasaka and his group discuss things with Nagisa?_   
  
  


◑ ━━━━━ ▣ ━━━━━ ◐  
  
  


"All right, then," Korosensei said, standing at the front of the class for their final lesson for the day, "compose a short poem to go along with our theme. The final line should be 'was tentacles all along.'"

"Huh?"

"Was tentacles all along?" repeated Yukiko Kanzaki with confusion.

"Indeed! When you're finished, bring them to me. I'll be looking for proper grammar and whether you've aptly conveyed the tentacle's beauty." Rina's brows furrowed as she glanced down at her paper, her mind going into overdrive as it tried to conjure up a poem. "An example: _not the storm of garden's snow or flowers moving on, but sprouting there instead was tentacles all along_."

Isogai sighed, leaning his head against his palm. "We have to write 'it was tentacles'? Really?"

"Once you're done, you're free to go home!" Immediately, groans and protests resounded throughout the classroom.

"How are we gonna write about that?" queried Kurahashi.

"Now, now," said Korosensei, his tentacles wiggling all around him, "aren't any marvellously slithery phrases coming to mind? Slither, slither, slither, slither!"

"Enough with the slithering!"

Rina took ahold of her pen, her thumb lightly tracing the top as she thought of countless sentences to mesh together into a poem that would satisfy her.

Kaede Kayano rose her hand. "I have a question!"

"Yes, Kayano-san?"

"It feels weird to only ask this now, but what's your name?" she asked their teacher. "How else are we supposed to refer to you specifically?"

"My...name?" It seemed that even he had forgotten about that.

"Now that you mention it..." trailed off Sugino, turning towards Fuwa.

"He never did tell us."

"Hmm **–** " Korosensei scratched the top of his head **–** "I don't really have the kind of name you tell people. Go ahead and give me on."

"You sure about that?"

"But right now, focus on your schoolwork."

"Yes, sir."

"Meanwhile, I'll just take a little break." Korosensei leaned back, his whole body turning a light pink, a sign of his exhaustion **—** a common occurrence after lunch.

Silence descended upon the class as the students focused on their work, some finding it easy while others found it slightly more challenging. Rina was one of the students who managed to figure something out. She elegantly wrote her answer on the paper; from the tip of her pen flowed the blackness that brought life to her creative flow.

The scrape of wood against wood stole everyone's attention.

"Finished already, Nagisa-kun?" Surprise overtook Rina when she saw Nagisa Shiota standing up, walking towards their teacher.

 _How did he finish hi_ **_—_ ** _oh._

She spotted the knife he held behind his paper. It was a simple idea, one she didn't expect from Nagisa, who hadn't tried anything bold since the beginning.

He lunged towards their teacher, ready to stab him, but like always, Korosensei caught his hand, faster than all of them. He used a handkerchief to take the knife away from the boy. "Didn't I tell you to be more inventive?"

Nagisa smiled and hugged Korosensei.

A gasp slipped past her lip as an explosion suddenly occurred, hundreds **—** maybe thousands **—** of BB pellets flying everywhere. Instinctively, Rina dropped her pen and covered her head, ducking to make sure none of them hit her.

"Hell yeah!"

"We did it!"

"Ten billion yen! Cha-ching!"

"Serves you right!"

Rina rose her head, eyes lividly staring at the three boys that walked to the front of the class, large grins plastered onto their faces. Rage flared in her chest, scarlet eyes blazing with fury.

"Terasaka!" shouted Isogai.

"What have you done?!"

The taller boy ignored everyone as he looked down at the octopus, grinning smugly. "Bet he never expected a suicide bomber!"

"Teresaka!" Rina growled, freezing everyone in their places, her voice dipped in darkness and thick with anger. The said male slowly turned towards the usually silent girl who stood from her chair at the back of the class. Her face was like stone, her voice sharp, and her eyes were narrowed **—** rigid, cold, hard. "What the hell did you give Nagisa?"

"Huh? A toy grenade. But I beefed it up with gunpowder so it'd shoot three hundred anti-teacher bullets at crazy high speed!" explained Terasaka boastfully. Seeing the anger blazing in those scarlet eyes, he dismissively reassured them by saying, "nothin' strong enough to kill human beings, all right?"

Crouching in front of their teacher, he continued, "my ten billion yen'll cover his medical bills no prob **—** " Teresaka cut himself off, spotting the blue-haired boy covered in some weird material. "He's not hurt? Not even a single burn? And what's with this membrane? It's attached to that octopus's corpse?"

"As it happens **–** " the voice of their teacher surprised everyone, all of them glancing around the room to find the source **–** "i shed my skin about once a month. I protected Nagisa-kun, thereby covering him with my old skin."

Rina sighed in relief when the said boy sat up, the membrane crumbling apart as he did so.

"It's my once-monthly ace-in-the-hole." Korosensei stretched himself against the ceiling, a black aura exuding off of him while his eyes blazed with fury, similar to Rina's. "Terasaka, Yoshida, Muramatsu." Acrimony, animosity, wrath **—** their teacher went pitch black, lips spreading into a snarl and showcasing his spiky teeth. "You three are responsible for this, aren't you?"

"N-No."

"It was all Nagisa's idea!"

Rina scoffed at their lies, finding them absolutely pathetic. She stood at the back while Korosensei sped out of the classroom, returning a few seconds later with all the nameplates from their houses, dumping them onto the ground.

"My agreement with your government prohibits me from harming you, but if you try another assassination like that one, I might just harm someone else," he threatened. "Maybe I'll kill everyone on the planet _except_ you."

The whole class knew right then and there that their only way to escape the situation was to kill him. On the other hand, Rina knew exactly where their teacher was coming from, so she wasn't surprised by his answer in the end.

"What the hell's your deal, anyway?! You're a real pain in the ass! Showing up all 'I'm gonna blow up the Earth' and 'Assassinate me'! What's wrong with using an annoying method to kill an annoying guy?!"

Korosensei turned peach, the same colour when his students answered a question correctly.

"Annoying? Hardly! Your idea itself was a very good one. Especially you, Nagisa-kun." Korosensei rubbed Nagia's head. "The way you carried yourself so naturally on your approach gets full marks from me. You did an excellent job making it past my defences." Nagisa stared at their teacher in surprise, as did the rest of the class. "However!" The three boys jumped as their teacher turned towards them, sweat dropping in fright. "None of you looked out for Nagisa-kun **–** " they turned away in guilt **–** "not even Nagisa-kun himself. Students like that aren't fit to assassinate anyone. We need an assassination worth smiling about **—** one to be proud of! You're all capable assassins who have that power within you. Just a few words of advice form your teacher.

"Let me pose you a question, Nagisa-kun. I have not the slightest intention of being killed. I will enjoy my time with you all until next March, and then I will blow up the Earth. If you don't like that idea, what do you plan to do about it?"

"Before you destroy Earth," started Nagisa, a smile stretched upon his lips, "i'll kill you."

Korosensei snickered, his smug expression returning back to his face, staring directly at the boy who thought nobody would ever pay attention to him because he wasn't worth the time.

"Then what are you waiting for? Once you've killed me, you're free to go home!"

"EHHHH?!"

"Just like that, huh?!"

"You _know_ we can't kill you!"

"An unkillable teacher," wondered Kayano out loud, staring up at the ceiling, " _korosenai_ for unkillable and _sensei_ for teacher **—** oh! What about Korosensei?"

"Korosensei?"

The octopus turned towards them, pausing in polishing the nameplates.

Rina sat back in her seat. She picked up the book on her table, returning back to the page she was on.

Her lips quirked upwards.

_What a strange teacher._


	4. Two

**RINA BLINKED RAPIDLY,** futilely trying to remove the sleepy haze that coated over his vision. She sat upright on her bed, the duvet pooling in her lap. Stretching her arms above her head, Rina smiled as the satisfying crack made its way to her ears. Her eyes moved over to her window, lips pulled downwards at the darkness that lingered outside.

_What time is it?_

Rina turned towards the alarm clock on her bedside table. _4:36,_ she read. _Why am I up?_

She stared at the clock blankly, watching the red numbers flicker as they slowly changed.

_4:37_

_4:38_

_4:39_

_4:43_

Rina zoned back into the world, exhaling deeply. She reached over, gently grabbing the novel beside the clock and flipping onto the page she marked. She shuffled upwards, leaning against the headboard and immersing herself in the book, diving into a whole new world to pass the time. Somnus' wasn't joining her anytime soon.

As twilight slowly melted away and the majestic ball of fire rose through the sky, the egg yolk sun's rays poured through the cracks of her white blinds, slivers of light peeking in to see the dark-haired girl. It giggled as it kissed her cheeks, casting thin golden stripes across her angelic face. She was pulled out of her little world by the beeping sound of her alarm clock, alerting her that it was time to get up and get ready for the new school day. Rina placed her bookmark between the pages, her fingers stroking the papers once more before shutting the book and placing it in her lap. She snoozed the alarm and gazed out the window, absorbing the familiar view of her garden basking under the comfort of the sun.

Rina slowly but gradually rose from her bed, fluttering around her room to complete her morning routine: brushing her teeth and hair, washing her face, and changing into her uniform. She grabbed the bag she packed the night before, slinging it over her shoulders. She shuffled over to her table, spotting her phone. Her fingers hovered over the device settled beside her bed, and with a single tap against the screen, her lockscreen displayed itself brightly.

Rina sighed dejectedly.

No messages today, either.

Longing curled around her heart, tightening its grasp painfully. It's been ages since she had talked to either one of her soulmates. She cursed their stubbornness. It pained her not to speak to them, but she wasn't going to be the first one to start the conversation **—** her pride wouldn't let her, nor would theirs.

Slipping her phone into her pocket, Rina left her room, greeting the maids she saw on the way down. She descended the stairs, sauntering into the kitchen, where she greeted their hired chef.

"Good morning, Young Mistress," said Souta Riku, their personal chef that had been with them since she was a babe.

Rina cringed at the sobriquet.

"Please, don't call me that, Souta-san. You know I don't like it."

"Of course, _Hime-sama_." The chef laughed heartily, winking cheekily while handing her the bento box he prepared for her day at school.

Rina shook her head at his antics, the usual occurrence in her almost empty household. With her parents busy with their jobs abroad, Rina was left in the maids and Souta's care **—** although she was independent enough to take care of herself. Of course, when her parents did come back, they made sure to make it up to her, spending all the time they had available with her. Rina didn't particularly mind it. They worked hard to send her to school, and she couldn't be more grateful.

"Enjoy your day at school, _Hime-sama_."

Rina groaned, knowing that the nickname was going to stick for a while.

She left with a goodbye to those she saw, her bento box placed neatly in her bag. The duration of the trip to school was around ten minutes if she walked at a fast pace, but now that she was in Class 3-E, an extra thirty minutes was added due to the climb down the mountains. Since she got up earlier than usual, Rina could take her time, which she was thankful for. Rina was never one to be late, preferring not to be tardy. She liked to have a clean record, only taking days off when she truly needed it. No matter what, the scarlet-eyed girl was at school every day, even when she knew she'd spend the whole day reading **—** which she was secretly elated for. The book she had brought with her today was one named 'A Christmas Carol', a novella written by an English writer named Charles Dickens. It was an interesting piece of literature, one that centres around the treatment of the poor and the ability of a selfish man redeeming himself by transforming into a more sympathetic character. It was a socialist piece of writing, and Rina found herself genuinely interested, adoring the supernatural themes installed within it.

The walk to school was calming, albeit a rocky one due to the descent down the mountain. She bedizened a composed and smoothed outwards, appearing like a queen to those that gazed at her; from the white balls of fluff floating amongst the blue sky to the twittering birds sitting idly on the extended arms of the overgrown trees.

"Ah, Izumi-san! Good morning!" The said girl turned to see Hinata Okano waving at her a little way above her, her hair glistening under the rays of the soothing sun. Rina paused in her steps, waiting for the shorter girl to catch up.

"Good morning, Okano-san. Sleep well?" She nodded gleefully, diving straight into the new bug she saw on the way home the day before. The two walked together, the brunette talking the girl's ear off. Although Rina was silent for the duration of their conversation, Hinata knew that she was paying full attention **—** she always did.

Rina constantly paid attention to each individual in the class, paying special attention to their personalities, likes and dislikes, emotions, and triggers. She was always there to help anyone before they even knew they needed help. Although cold and quite aloof, the caringness in her eyes was always evident, shining as bright as the stars in the night sky.

Upon reaching their classroom, they slid the door open, and a chorus of greetings welcomed them. The two split up and headed to their respective seats. Rina nodded her head and acknowledged those that greeted her. She pulled out her books and stationaries needed for the day, organising them onto her desk before she hung her bag at the back of the class.

The bell rang, and their yellow octopus teacher entered, thus beginning their school day.  
  
  


◑ ━━━━━ ▣ ━━━━━ ◐  
  
  


"Now then, class," begun Korosensei happily, "i have some business to take care of today, so if you'll excuse me."

"Business?" The students looked towards their teacher with confusion and curiosity. It was unusual for the octopus to have 'business' to attend too.

"That's right," he grinned, sliding the window open. "I have a game to catch in New York."

Korosensei flew out the window, and the students shielded their eyes from the dust that flew around the room.

"There he goes," sweatdropped Taisei Yoshida.

"What's his deal?"

Rina shut her books, stacking them onto each other and neatly placing them back in her school bag, listening idly to the conversation shared between her classmates. "It'd be nice if he brought back some souvenirs for us once in a while, at least," commented Hinano Kurashashi.

Megu Kataoka stopped in front of her desk, asking, "but who'd want something to remember their assassination target by?"

"Well, he could bring us something to eat. That way, it wouldn't stick around."

"That's one way of looking at it, I guess," chuckled Megu, eyes closing and mouth spreading into a smile.

"What could he bring back from New York?" Yuma Isogai asked Hiroto Maehara, who leant against the bag on his desk.

"Booze?"

"We're underaged!"

"Yeah, I think snacks would be best," said Hinano, giggling at the playboy.

"Or a blonde beauty!" Taiga Okajima, the pervert of the class, exclaimed as he stood up from his chair, fantasising over female Americans. "Hell yeah!"

"Right?!"

"Blonde, blonde, blonde, blonde!" While Okajima squealed over women he's seen in magazines, Rina stood from her chair and slung her bag over her shoulder.

"I, for one," she started, walking to the front of the class, "wouldn't mind trying American sweets."

"Hmm," agreed Kaede Kayano. "I want to try their pudding!" Rina smiled fondly at the greenette, who quickly averted her gaze when she saw the smile on her face. Kayano's cheeks flushed, her heart palpitating.

She swallowed thickly.

_So cute._

"Oh, Karasuma-san!" Rina and the rest of the class turned to the older male with spiky black hair and piercing dark eyes in a professional black business suit.

"How's it going? Any clues on how to kill him?"

Instantly a negative mood flooded the class, flushing out any smiles and laughter that occurred moments ago. They all averted their gazes, some looking to the side while others looked down, disappointed that nothing had happened so far.

Kirara Hazama sighed deeply, leaning back in her chair. "Well, we _are_ the E class."

Rina frowned at their pessimistic attitudes, noticing that the girl was looking towards the depressed Sugino, whose failed assassination attempt this morning really brought his mood down.

"It's impossible, Karasuma-san."

"He's way too fast."

"You can't kill anything that flies at Mach 20."

"Indeed, no army is capable of that feat," agreed Karasuma.

"Exactly!"

"But you are the only ones who have this opportunity." The whole class turned to him as he pointed at them ever so stoically. "For whatever reason, he insists on being your teacher. Left to his own devices, come next March, he'll blow up the Earth. One look at that carved-up moon, and you'll know: when that day comes, there's no saving us." Karasuma stared each one of them down, eyes narrowed and stern. "This classroom is the only place he can be killed."

What Rina couldn't comprehend was why their lovable teacher trying to destroy the Earth. She doubted he had menacing, revengeful intentions. Surely he loved his own planet? Or could there be something else to it?

Rina mentally scoffed. _Of course, there is._

Korosensei never does anything without a proper reason, no matter how idiotic.  
  
  


◑ ━━━━━ ▣ ━━━━━ ◐  
  
  


The next day, Rina spotted Sugino sitting on the steps outside, opting to eat his lunch outside for the day. She frowned, noticing how his dejected mood only worsened, and she didn't like it. Rina placed her bento box down and stood from her chair, excusing herself and exiting the classroom.

"Sugino-san," she called softly, snapping him out of his dark ruminations.

"Izumi-san, what are you doing here?"

"I came to give you this." She handed him a box of biscuits that she fished from her bag earlier. "They always lift my mood when I have them." His eyes widened in surprise, and he gently grabbed the box, spotting multiple animal-shaped biscuits in them. He smiled faintly.

"Thank you."

"Don't be too hard on yourself," she advised, looking down at him. "Everything takes time."

Her lips curled into a warm smile, shining shined like stars in a dark sky, with no bright city lights to dim them. It was like the sun opened its eager light to shine about her, only brightening her perfectly aligned teeth.

Sugino exhaled deeply, pursing his lips into a tired smile. "Yeah," he said, and Mizuki knew that no words would help lift his mood. His confidence was crushed, and he doubted his ability to do anything.

Rina left with a comforting squeeze to his shoulder.

She stepped inside the school, nodding to Korosensei, who passed by her. She leant against the window inside, watching the exchange between the teacher and the student **—** a rather odd one at that.

Nagisa ran past her when he spotted Korosensei fondling the male.

"Korosensei! What are you doing?! What happened to your pledge not to hurt your students?"

Korosensei snickered.

"Sugino-kun. The unusual pitching form I saw yesterday...you're copying major-league pitcher Arita, aren't you?" Sugino gasped in surprise, although Korosensei's tentacles muffled it.

Rina, who stood against the door with her arms crossed over her chest, rose a brow. _How did he know that?_

"But, you know, the tentacles tell all." He gently lowered the boy to the ground. "Your shoulder muscles are out of whack compared to Arita's."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sugino asked defensively.

"You won't be able to pitch his super fastballs with that body, no matter how much you try to imitate him."

Rina winced. _Harsh._

"How can you be so sure?" Scarlet eyes landed on the blue-haired boy who looked to the ground, hands balled into fists by his side.

"Nagisa?"

"Because we're misfits? Because we're the End Class?" Nagisa rose his head, eyes boring into his teacher's. "So we shouldn't even bother? Is that it?!"

"Hmm, well...how I do I know it's impossible, you ask?" Korosensei's tentacle reached into his sleeve, an action that had Rina narrowing her eyes. He took out the newspaper he stole from New York, holding it up and presenting it to the two boys. "Well, I checked the man himself yesterday!"

**_"Well then, never mind!"_ **

"I even got his autograph!"

Rina sweatdropped.

"You asked him for an autograph after that?! No wonder he was furious!"

Tears dripped out of Korosensei's eyes. "I just couldn't believe my tentacles!"

Nagisa face-palmed.

"I get it. I just don't have his talent."

Korosensei's tears vanished, and he reached out for his student, his tentacles wrapping around his arm. "On the other hand, your elbows and wrists are more flexible than Arita's." This surprised both boys. "Train well, and you could far surpass him. When I'm fondling for research purpose, my tentacles are never wrong."

 _That doesn't sound so right,_ cringed Rina. _What other fondling does he do?_

She mentally gagged.

"There's more than one kind of talent. Find an assassination style that suits yours."

The corners of her lips quirked upwards upon seeing Sugino's confidence return to him.

Korosensei entered their school building, and Rina pushed herself off the wall, turning to the yellow octopus whilst Nagisa and Sugino chatted about better techniques. "Sensei," she called, gathering his attention. Korosensei paused and turned towards the young girl. "Did you go all the way to New York just to give Sugino advice?"

"Of course. I'm his teacher."

"Most teachers would never go that far," she said, turning to the male, eyes scrutinising him. "But you will? The one who's going to destroy the Earth?"

"Izumi-san, I became your teacher to keep a promise I made." The new information surprised her; her eyes widened in shock. "And while I do intend to destroy the earth, I'm your teacher first and foremost." He smiled broadly, ruffling her hair with his tentacle before smoothing out the strands. "Taking you kids seriously is more important than the end of the world."

Rina stared at Korosensei, chest swelling with warmth. Their teacher was incredible. Going all the way to New York just for his student, to help him grow and guide him in the right direction.

Rina knew that her decision for not killing him was correct, and it was final. No matter what. Korosensei was too kind to warrant such cruel behaviours.  
  
  


◑ ━━━━━ ▣ ━━━━━ ◐  
  
  


As the day drew to an end, Rina scribbled down the last of her notes in her book, reminding herself to go home and revise all the topics they studied. She closed her book, glancing towards the window and smiling when she saw Sugino and Nagisa practising baseball outside.

Every student already left the class, with half of them carrying out one of their assassination attempts on their teacher that was eating snow cones up in the mountain.

Packing her stuff together, Rina slung her bag over her shoulder and exited the classroom. She was mentally making a to-do list for the day. As she stepped outside, her eyes caught sight of a view that irritated her.

"That's low, Korosensei!" cried Toka Yada, bringing her hand to cover her mouth. "After Izumi-san spent so much time taking care of them and they'd finally bloomed..."

At the mention of his favourite student, Korosensei panicked and used his inhuman speed to gather new bulbs, quick to dart over to the place and plant the bulbs, so he didn't upset her when he found her.

_"Sensei."_

Korosensei froze, slowly turning his head to face the direction the voice came in. He swallowed thickly, sweat dropping down the side of his face profusely when he saw the irritated eyes of his beloved student.

"A-Ah, Izumi-san..." He tried to come up with an excuse, but his brain failed him. Rina sighed deeply. She turned to the others that stood and watched.

"Kill him."

They all grinned and lunged at him.  
  
  


◑ ━━━━━ ▣ ━━━━━ ◐  
  
  


Karasuma arrived at the satellite campus and was greeted by Kayano, who guided him to the tree at the back where Korosensei was handicapped as a way of apologising to his students. The new teacher watched with astonishment as the group of students all attempted to stab and shoot the octopus. 

When he managed to get away, Karasuma watched as the students all laughed and discussed their next assassination attempt. _Junior High Students talking happily about assassination?_ he thought. _This sure is a strange place. It's so strange how the liveliest students at this school are here in E Class, with their target teaching them._

Karasuma glanced to the side, eyebrows furrowed.

_Yet..._

Rina crouched beside the flowerbed, her school bag beside her while she wore a pair of gloves, gently patting down the soil with one hand while the other poured water from the plastic watering can.

_Why isn't she taking part?_


	5. Three

**"ONE! TWO! THREE!"** Rina followed her classmates, moving in synch with them as they practised attacks with their knives. "Four! Five! Six!" Although she didn't believe in killing their teacher, Rina continued to participate. She knew that the lessons would come in handy for future uses, and she refused to half-ass any classes **—** PE was still an essential part of their education. It was practically the only time she got proper exercise, excluding the half-hour climb up and down the mountain every day. "Seven! Eight!"

"Ah, the sound to exercise echoing across the field on a sunny afternoon," Korosensei, dressed in a large white shirt and a red cap, twirled a yellow flower in between his tentacles. "How peaceful. Or so it would be if the students didn't have weapons in their hands."

"Practice swinging your knives from all eight directions," yelled Karasuma, his suit jacket off and his hands on his hips. Rina, who had already memorised the directions, gripped the rubber knife tightly, light sweat dripping down her forehead.

The students all came to a stop when Korosensei began to play in the sandbox, sulking like a child. "You're so mean, Karasuma-sensei." Tears fell from his eyes. "I'll have you know that my students happen to like my PE activities!"

Sosuke Sugaya sighed, resting his knife on his shoulder. "Yeah, right. Your physical abilities are too far out there."

"Don't you remember what happened last time?"

As the class recollected their last PE lesson, Rina rose her arm and wiped her sweat away with the back of her hand. She placed most of her weight on her right leg, one hand on her hip as she inhaled and exhaled deeply, trying to stable her palpitating heartbeat.

"He's in a class of his own," commented Rio, arms crossed over her chest.

"I'd rather have a human PE teacher, thanks."

Korosensei whined, kneeling in the sandpit and stacking rocks onto each other.

"Okay, let's get back to it."

"But is there any point to all this training, Karasuma-sensei?" Maehara asked. "And should we be doing it right under our target's nose?"

"Assassination follows the same principle as studying: drill the basics, and they'll serve you well," stated Karasuma, facing the group of students with an austere expression.

 _The same?_ Rina rose a brow. _That's a bit of a stretch._

"Isogai-kun, Maehara-kun, step forward." The two did as told, moving forward. "Try to strike me with those knives."

"Uh? Are you sure?" Isogai asked, straightening in surprise.

"As a team?" Maehara stared at their teacher in disbelief.

"They're harmless to humans, so don't worry." Karasuma reached up and loosened his tie as he said, "if you can touch me, even lightly, you may all go home for the day.

"Uh...well, er.." The two boys glanced at each other before they readied their stance. "Okay, then." They lunged towards their teacher, attempting to strike him with their knives.

Rina sighed, refixing her low ponytail. They wouldn't be leaving any time soon; after all, their teacher was part of the army.

"As you see, with a little training, even I can handle the knives of two amateurs." Annoyed, the boys lunged forward again, only to be thrown to the ground by their teacher, who easily overpowered them. "If you can't even hit me, you haven't got a snowball's chance in Hell against our Mach-20 teacher. See? While we were sparring, he built Osaka Castle in the sandbox, changed clothes, and brewed up some tea!"

Rina silently snorted upon seeing their teacher in a green dress and robe, wearing his usual grin. He watched them with a cup of tea in his tentacles.

"That really grinds my gears."

"Once the whole class is capable of hitting me **–** " Karasuma extended his arms and helped the two boys up **–** "your chance of success will increase dramatically." He turned back towards the class, tightening his tie. "During PE, I'll be teaching you stabbing, shooting and other basics of assassination."

"Woah," muttered Sugino.

The whole class stared at their teacher in awe.

"That's all for today."

"Thank you!" they said collectively, bowing and showing their respect for their teacher. They then all dispersed into their own groups, three of the girls stepping together and gawking at their new teacher.

"Karasuma-sensei's kinda scary, but he sure is cool!" Yada said, a light blush on her cheeks.

"I know, right?" Hinano agreed, smiling gleefully. "You think he'll pat us on the head if we manage to hit him?"

"I wonder."

Hinano turned towards their usually aloof friend, a cheeky smile curling at her lips. "Ne, Izumi-san." The said girl turned towards the group. "What do you think of Karasuma-sensei?"

"In what context?"

"Don't you find him attractive?" Rina blinked at the question, looking back to their teacher, who attempted to stab Korosensei but was a second too slow.

The bell rang, signalling the start of their next period.

"He's not my type," she replied shortly, her gaze moving to the top of the cliff where a certain redhead stood, one hand stuffed into his pocket while the other held a box of juice. He wore the incorrect school uniform and masked his malice with a smile.

"Hey, Nagisa-kun. It's been a while." His red hair moved with the breeze, golden eyes scrutinising his classmates.

"Karma-kun...You're back?"

Rina paused in her steps, crossing her arms over her chest as Karma walked up to their teacher. The expression on his face was obviously fraudulent, so she wasn't surprised when he managed to catch Korosensei off guard, exploding the tentacle that reached to shake his hand.

Karma revealed his wicked side, lunging for their teacher with the knife he hid in his sleeve. "Wow. Looks like you're as fast as they say. And these knives are as effective as they say."

The class was star-struck, watching as Korosensei's tentacle dripped with the same yellow liquid as before, except this time, it wasn't because of himself.

"I cut one up into tiny little pieces and stuck them to my hand. But I'm surprised you fell for such a simple move. You jumped back so far, too. What are you, a scaredy-cat?" he asked mockingly, a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and advanced towards their teacher. "I heard 'Korosensei' comes from 'korosenai,' or 'unkillable'. But what's this? Could you be a pushover after all?"

Korosensei's face went red with rage, his veins popping to the surface as Karma ridiculed him, hoping to spark some violence.

"Nagisa, what kind of person is this Karma-kun?" asked Kayano.

"Well, we were in the same class during first and second year, but he was suspended due to his persistently violent behaviour. Those violent tendencies are also what landed him in E Class," he explained, his eyes never moving from the confrontation occurring before them all. "But here, he might top the class?"

"How do you mean?"

"When it comes to deadly weapons and foul play, Karam-kun's got us all beat." They watched as he played around with his knife adeptly, his skills daunting.

"But what about Izumi-san?" she asked, turning to see the dark-haired girl looking at the redhead, unimpressed. Nagisa followed her line of direction, seeing the two soulmates lock eyes. Karma grinned malevolently while Rina rolled hers, turning on her heel and returning to class.

Her classmates could feel the irritation she exuded.  
  
  


◑ ━━━━━ ▣ ━━━━━ ◐  
  
  


The students sat in their classroom, all of them attempting to solve the quiz they were given. Korosensei stood in the corner, sulking while softly banging his tentacle into the wall. The squishy sound and the scene in front of them had most of them sweatdropping.

"Ugh, that's it! Enough with the squishing!" yelled Okano. "We're trying to take a quiz here!"

"P-Pardon me!"

Vexation crawled up Rina's spine, her grip on her pen tightening at the words that left Terasaka's mouth. "Hey, Karma, you sure about this? That monster's pissed." She knew that they were trying to entice him to retaliate, to provoke him and see him fall apart. Her eye twitched in annoyance, but nonetheless, Rina continued writing, not letting their loud mindless bickering disturb her concentration.

She had a quiz to complete.

"You there! No noise during a test!" yelled Korosensei, a rather large irk mark present on his face. "You're lucky I haven't done you in for cheating!"

"Gomen, gomen, Korosensei. I've already finished, so I'll just sit here quietly and eat my gelato."

Rina wasn't surprised by her soulmate's devious antics, nor when he continued to pull off his foolish tricks. Hearing that he had finished already had her hurrying to complete the test, refusing to be outdone by the taller male.

"Gotcha again!" Karma laughed, holding the gun in his hand and walking towards their teacher. "I'll just keep using the same old tricks, I don't even care if it interferes with class. If you don't like it, feel free to kill me or anyone else here. But the instant you do **–** " he purposely smeared the ice cream onto their teacher's jacket **–** "no one'll see you as a teacher anymore. You'll just be a murderous monster. Your identity as a teacher will be killed. By me."

Anger propagated through Rina's chest, her hand stilled in its motions of writing down the answers for the quiz's questions.

"Karma," she called, her voice low and rigid. Her icy glare froze them all in their places, including the redhead, who glanced over his shoulder; the mischief in his eyes only brightened when he saw her pissed off expression. He was delighted to see that look.

Karma dropped his paper to the ground and walked out of the class, ignoring everything around him. He slid the door open, looking back with a cunning gleam in his eyes. "See ya, Sensei. Let's play some more tomorrow."

Nobody moved **—** nobody dared too. They all sat in their places, incredulity flowing through them.

Rina sighed, placing her pen down on the desk. She stood up and grabbed the handkerchief from her pocket, making her way pass the others. She extended the fabric to Korosensei with a gentle smile. "I apologise for his eccentric behaviour," she said, bending to the ground once he had taken the handkerchief and gathering Karma's papers, ordering them neatly. "I'll try to talk some sense into him." She handed the papers to their teacher.

"Thank you, Izumi-san," he said, one tentacle collecting the papers while the other used the handkerchief to clean the ice cream on his clothes. "But there'll be no need for that." Raising another tentacle, he used it to pat her head before lightly urging her back into her chair, telling her to resume the test.

Korosensei excused himself to clean up, all the while wondering how he should deal with his newest student.  
  
  


◑ ━━━━━ ▣ ━━━━━ ◐  
  
  


"I didn't see this coming," cried Korosensei, staring into his practically empty wallet. "I'm all out of gelato money! And no hope of getting more before payday! I'll just have to make my own." His shoulders slumped forward, eyes cast downwards in a mournful gaze. A pout tugged at his lips as he slithered across the hallway, making his way to the classroom.

"Sensei," came the sweet, serene voice of the student that refused to kill him. Korosensei turned around, perking up with inquisitiveness when he saw an icebox in her hands. "I got you this," Rina informed, holding the box out for her yellow coloured teacher. "To make up for yesterday's... mishaps."

Curiously, like a kitten approaching a new friend, Korosensei opened the box, eyes widening when he saw multiple ice creams inside, each a different flavour and colour.

"It may not be like the gelato from Italy," she said, a soft smile on her lips, "but I did try my best to recreate it."

A massive grin broke out onto Korosensei's face, his whole mood and attitude brightening. "Ah, Izumi-san! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" His tentacles waved around vigorously, showcasing his happiness as he dotted around the box, looking at all the flavours and fantasising about what it would taste like. Drool slipped past his mouth, and Rina chuckled, pointing out that the longer he stared at it, the more likely it was going to melt.

Korosensei quickly placed the lid back on and used his speed to put the ice creams in the staff room's freezer, returning back in just a second.

The two walked to class, discussing the various flavours Rina created. "Well, at first, I thought of going for a plain vanilla, but seeing as I had extra ingredients, I experimented around." They reached the room, and Rina slid the door open, stepping inside. "It's the first time I tried it, so if they don't turn out so gre **—** "

She cut herself off, eyes trained onto the dead octopus on Korosense's desk, a knife plunged through the middle of its head. A pungent smell smothered the classroom, and Rina's face contoured with revulsion.

"Hm?" Korosensei tilted his head to the side, wondering why everyone was silent. "What's the matter, cla **—** "

"Oh! Gomen!" Rina's head snapped to the side, seeing her soulmate smiling apathetically at the back. "I killed that creature thinking it was you. Bring it here. I'll dispose of it."

Disgust rampantly spread through her, scarlet orbs glaring at the male in the back. Rina stepped forward, going to berate Karma for his immature acts when Korosensei stepped forward.

"All right."

Rina's eyes widened. "Sensei!"

The yellow octopus lifted the dead creature with his tentacle, making his way to the back of the classroom. He lifted his own tentacles, the ends transforming into drills, surprising the class. He vanished and reappeared with a missile and various ingredients in his tentacles, eliciting gasps from the more vulnerable students. "Now, now, Karma-kun. Allow me to show you the power of these drill tentacles and this missile I filched from the Self Defense-Force!" The missile was set alight, and Korosensei's other tentacles got to work. "I'm not about to let my assassin get away scot-free."

Rina stared with amusement as Korosensei forced fed Karma, who spat out the food.

"I could tell by your pallor that you hadn't eaten breakfast, you see. So I whipped up a batch of takoyaki at Mach speed," he explained, resuming his usual gleeful self. "With these, you'll be well on your way to being nice and healthy." He placed a takoyaki on the tip of his drill, extending it out to Karma. "Open wide."

Golden orbs fiercely blazed into him.

"Karma-kun. My job is to tend thing. To take care of them. Things like assassins' rusty blades. So keep trying your hardest to kill me today. Every time you do, I'll take care of you. Korosensei stood to his full height, tentacles flowing at his side. "By the end of the day, your body and mind will be polished to sparkling."

Seeing the pissed off expression on her soulmate's face humoured her. Rina walked to her seat, smiling smugly as Korosensei placed the plate on her table, using the top of his tentacle to pat her head.

"Make sure you eat in the mornings as well, Izumi-san." He smiled warmly at her before returning to the front and beginning rollcall.

Rina lent back in her chair, popping one of the balls into her mouth while glancing at her soulmate, a pleased smirk dawning across her face.  
  
  


◑ ━━━━━ ▣ ━━━━━ ◐  
  
  


Their first lesson of the day was Math. Rina had her notebooks open, only jotting down necessary notes since she understood the topic they were studying.

Korosensei stood at the front, writing down the mathematical equation on the board. "As you can see, this number is left over, no matter what you do. If this indivisibility is getting you down, then have I got the method for you! I'll write it on the blackboard. Everyone try solving it together."

Rina, from the corner of her eye, noticed Karma draw out a gun from his jacket. She sternly shook her head when he glanced over, but he ignored her and aimed for their teacher.

Korosensei acted quickly, his tentacles whipping to the back of the class at a speed they barely could keep up with. "Oh, Karma-kun, I'm afraid you're a touch too slow on the draw." Rina barked out a laugh when she noticed that his nails had been painted, the noise enthralling many the students, surprised to hear such a melodious sound escaping her lips. "I thought I'd use the extra time I had to give you a little nail art."

Karma tsked, eyebrow twitching with irritation.  
  
  


◑ ━━━━━ ▣ ━━━━━ ◐  
  
  


In Home Ec, Rina partnered up with Karma, Okuda Manami, Hayami Rinka, Chiba Ryuunosuke and Okajima. Of course, the redhead refused to participate. He leant against the table, plotting another assassination attempt that was most likely to fail.

"Could you at least try to participate?" she asked the male, fingers enveloped around the chopping knife. Karma ignored her, stubbornly facing the other direction and purposely ostracising himself. Rina huffed and resumed her task. Standing on her side of the wooden table, she proceeded to cut the vegetables into perfect matchsticks, every motion precise and done flawlessly.

The other students awed at her skills.

"You're really good at this, Izumi-san!" complimented Okuda, who had her own task to complete.

"Thank you," she replied, raising the chopping board and pouring the vegetables into the pan where they would proceed to drain it after the juices were extracted, evolving the umami. "How is it?"

Chiba rose the spoon to his lips, tasting the liquid and nodding his head.

"Better."

A sudden splash of liquid alerted the students, all of them turning to see Karma lunging for their teacher with a knife. Korosensei reacted just as quickly, dressing the male. "You forgot your apron, Karma-kun." There stood the redhead in a frilly pink apron with a large heart embroidered in the middle. "Don't worry about the soup. I collected it all in midair with an eyedropper." Korosensei offered the pan to Fuwa, motioning for her to have a taste. "I added a little sugar while I was at it, too."

She dipped her spoon in the liquid, bringing it to her lips and having a sip. Fuwa grinned joyfully. "It's much milder now!"

Rina had to bite down on her lip to contain her giggles. She saw Rio whip her phone out, snapping pictures of the boy to use as blackmail later on. She made a mental note to ask her for those pictures.

Noticing how Karma's hands balled into fists and how his cheeks flushed in embarrassment, Rina knew that he wasn't going to give up anytime soon; in fact, she was sure his attempts were going to get riskier and riskier until he did something extremely stupid.

It was no use, though. No matter how many times he tried, Karma wouldn't be able to kill Korosensei **—** especially now that he was on guard.

When the day came to an end, Rina had deemed it by far her favourite.

It sort of gave her a sense of satisfaction, seeing her delinquent soulmate humiliated in front of the whole class multiple times. All of his failed attempts humoured her, and his ego was sure to be damaged by now. After all, he had been dragged off of his high horse quite embarrassingly. Hadn't he learnt his lesson? No matter how hard he tries, Karma wasn't going to be able to kill their teacher.

At least, not alone.

She and Nagisa went off to find the redhead later, knowing that he had a favourite spot in the mountains. They spotted him sitting on a tree trunk that stretched off the cliff, staring off into the sky while bitting down on nail in annoyance, desperately trying to formulate another plan.

"Karma-kun," called Nagisa. "Don't sweat it. We'll all do it together." The blue-haired boy tried to reassure and comfort his friend. "Once Korosensei has his eye on you, you can't kill him by yourself, no matter the method. He's not like the other teachers."

"Teachers, eh?" Hearing the low dynamic of voice caused worry to burgeon within her. "Yeah, no. _I_ want to do it. Nothing would tick me off more than him dying in some random way."

Exasperated, Rina stepped forward. "Ka **—** "

"Karma-kun?" The voice of their teacher beckoned for their attention. The three turned to see Korosensei walking up to them with his usual grin. "I've certainly taken good care of you today, haven't I?" His face changed, yellow and green stripes painting themselves around his head. "You can still try to kill me, you know. I'll polish you up even shinier."

"Just to make sure **–** " he stood upon the branch, and Rina's gaze snapped over in his direction, examining him closely **–** "you _are_ a teacher, right?"

"Hai."

"And you would, say, risk your life to protect one of your students?"

Brows furrowed, Rina turned to her soulmate. _What the hell are you thinking, Karma?_

"Of course. I'm a teacher, after all."

"Okay, good." Karma rose his gun and leant back. "Then I can kill you. For sure."

Everything seemed to slow; the birds suspended their twitterings, the wind stilled its dance, and the trees sucked in a breath.

Rina's eyes widened in horror, seeing her soulmate fling himself off the cliff over a stupid assassination.

A scream tore through her, "KARMA!"

She rushed to the edge, sinking to her knees as she watched her beloved fall.

Thankfully, Korosensei acted quickly, saving the male. "Splendid job on the premeditated assassination starring yourself." Seeing that he was safe, Rina relaxed, exhaling deeply. Her sigh was of a soft deflating, as if a tension had lifted, yet left her with a melancholy feeling instead of relief. "If I had saved you at Mach speed, your body wouldn't have been able to take it, and if I'd moved slowly, I'd have been hit. So I thought I'd try a stickier approach."

"Damn! What _can't_ these tentacles to?!"

"You can't shoot me now!" he taunted, snickering. "Oh, and for the record: letting you die is not an option for me." The sun smiled adoringly, expanding and allowing its rays to warm the situation occurring below. "Feel free to take a leap of faith any time you like."

Karma stared at his teacher for a second longer. A smile broke out onto his face, and he relaxed, closing his eyes.

 _It's no use,_ he thought. _He won't die, no matter what I do. Not the teacher part of him, anyway._

"Though, I suggest realising that your actions will always have consequences." Karma looked at him in confusion. "Whether they affect you **–** " Korosensei turned to look up **–** "or someone else."

Karma turned in the direction he was looking and saw his soulmate staring over worriedly, scarlet eyes watery. He realised that he had been too wrapped up in his desire to kill the oversized octopus, forgetting about the ones he loved most. What if their teacher hadn't been able to save him? What happened if that was the last Rina ever saw him? What about Gakushuu? All three of them had ended things on a sour note.

"No matter what happens, there will always be somebody that's affected by your actions."  
  
  
  


When Karma returned back to the top with Korosensei, Rina lunged at him, balling her hands into fists and banging them against his chest weakly. She struggled to hold in her tears, adrenaline still pumping furiously inside of her, heart palpitating at the scare.

"Boke! Boke! Boke!" she yelled, voice cracking each time. Karma let her hit him, holding her in silence and taking note of the way her fingers shook. He pulled her to him, holding her closely and tucking her face into his neck. Her lips quivered, eyes shutting tightly in an attempt to surpass the tears that threatened to escape. "You can't do reckless things like that."

"Gomen," he whispered, pressing a gentle kiss to her temple, one arm wrapped tightly around her waist while the other was around her head, pressing her against him. Nagisa and Korosensei watched the couple, the latter with a warm smile, recalling the precious moments he had with his soulmate.

She was the reason he was here, after all.

The two stood in that position for a while. Karma refused to let anyone see her tears, holding her more possessively. Her cries gradually died down, but the shaking took a bit longer.

"That was a lot crazier than you made it seem, Karma-kun," commented Nagisa, looking over the cliff.

"Eh, no biggie," he shrugged, irking Rina off at his nonchalant attitude. "As far as I could see, that would've been my best chance at killing."

"It was the stupidest thing you've come up with," she said, her words slightly muffled against his neck.

Karma laughed.

"Oya? Out of ideas already?" mocked Korosensei, eyes narrowed mischievously while his tentacles showcased the multiple items he had. "But I have so many ways left to pamper you in retaliation. _You're kind of a pushover yourself, aren't you?!_ "

Rina laughed, pulling herself away from Karma's chest. She gratefully accepted the tissue Korosensei handed her, using it to wipe the tear streaks on her cheek.

"Oh, I'll kill you. Maybe even tomorrow."

Korosensei's face went orange. "A healthy, refreshing bloodlust. Looks like you don't need any more of my special care."

"Oh, but I'd kill to see you with that headband," she told her soulmate, laughing heartily when he pinched her side lightly.

Korosensei and Nagisa were both pleasantly surprised to see how playful and open Rina was around Karma. She didn't retain the sternness she usually did when in class.

"Let's go, Nagisa-kun," Karma said, his arm draped across his soulmate's shoulders, his other hand throwing and catching the purse he stole. "We can eat on the way."

Korosensei gasped when he saw what was in his hand. "Hey! That's my purse!"

"And who left it in the staff room unattended?"

"Give it back!"

"If you say so," he smiled innocently, turning and throwing the purse.

Korosensei opened it and sweatdropped, shaking on the spot as he saw nothing inside. "But...This is empty!"

"There wasn't much in there to begin with. Call it a donation."

Korosensei screamed in horror.

"YOU HYPOCRITICAL DELINQUENT!"

Nagisa watched the teacher and the student with amusement.

_Assassins go in for the kill and wind up sparkling clean in their target's tentacles. That's our assassination classroom._

His eyes moved onto the scarlet-eyed girl wrapped in Karma's embrace.

_And although we're all not assassins in the class, I wonder how we'll try to kill him tomorrow?_


	6. Four

**PERMEATING THROUGH THE WINDOWS,** the sun's soothing rays, soft and golden as sunlit honey, flitted across the room, swaying idly to the hushed breaths of two soulmates resting harmoniously. Songs made by the melodious chirping of various birds floated into the room, dancing their way to a certain dark-haired girl.

Eyes fluttered open.

Rina took a moment to recall where she was. As the haze in her eyes dissipated, her sense of awareness returned. Familiar tingles sparked along the surface of her skin, a protective feeling enveloping her once again.

A smile curled at the ends of her lips. Rina reached forward, lightly dragging her fingertips along the arm draped over her. A shiver raced through the older boy.

His eyes cracked open.

Gold met scarlet.

"Morning," she greeted, her voice as soft as the light that bore witness to their endearing, private moment. Karma stared at the girl, adoration filling him. He took in her appearance: soft wisps of that luscious obsidian hair swept past an ear and caressed the skin of her neck, jaw, cheeks and around her rather beautiful, deep eyes. Those glossy scarlet orbs rimmed with thick, long, dark lashes that brushed her cheeks every time she closed her eyes, seemed to bore into him every time he looked into them and nearly lost himself.

Karma grinned, and he pulled Rina closer, tangling their legs together. Oh, how he missed holding her. Clasped in each others' embrace, all opposition to their bond melted, the warm blood flowing inside them both was intertwined with a fond tenderness. They laid in silence, listening to the breaths that slipped past the lips of the other.

Rina laid her head on his chest. _Warm,_ she thought. _And sweet._ She nuzzled her face into his neck, inhaling the faint, saccharine scent of strawberries that soothed her soul. _One, two, three._ With her ear to on his chest, she focused on his heartbeat, listening to the muscle pump blood and oxygen. _Up and down, up and down._ His chest rose, and she with it, though faintly. Everything felt so safe. So familiar.

A twinge of sadness poked at her heart, washing over her like long slow waves on a shallow beach, each icy cold, sending shivers down her spine.

Rina frowned. Longing filled her, a yearning for one other embrace.

"I miss him," she muttered, breaking the serene silence bestowed upon them. Karma sighed, tightening his hold and pulling her up. He turned them onto their sides, pushing his knee between her legs. He didn't say anything, just held her closer. Rina could hear the _'me too'_ on the tip of his tongue, but his inflated ego would never allow it to slip past.

They laid in silence, memorising each other while simultaneously missing a certain purple-eyed boy.

_Oh, Gakushu. When will you return to us?_   
  
  


◑ ━━━━━ ▣ ━━━━━ ◐  
  
  


"Now, allow me to introduce your new English teacher." Karasuma stood to the side, dressed in his usual suit and tie with his arms folded over each other.

"My name's Irina Jelavich. It's wonderful to meet you all!" A tall and fair-skinned young woman greeted. Rina had to admit she the lady was absolutely gorgeous **—** wavy hip-length light blonde hair that is split on either side, large watery blue eyes and a very sensual body; an ample bust with a curvy physique **—** and she would've found her even more attractive, had it not been for the way she latched onto their teacher.

_What a knock-out!_

_What knockers!_

_Wait...why's she all over him?_

"Who'd have thought you'd be a teacher here?" she exclaimed, snuggling against his tentacle.

"I'm wearing a wig." Korosensei removed his disguise, and she continued to wear her grin.

"Oh, I don't mind!"

_I hate her already_

"One of our school goals is to give you authentic experiences in foreign languages," stated Karasuma, glancing at the large yellow octopus. "I trust there'll be no objections to her taking over half your English lessons?"

"Well, if you insist." Korosensei turned to the blonde, eyes catching the sight of her large breasts. His face glowed a pink colour, practically illuminating the room.

"He's just plain smitten!"

"Well, there's no mistaking that face."

"I guess he's fine with a human too."

"The more I look at you, the more I like what I see. Your beady eyes, like two diarrhoea pills...your strange, floppy limbs...why, you're positively captivating!"

"How embarrassing."

_Don't fall for it, Korosensei!_

_No woman finds those things attractive!_

Karasuma stood beside the two, exasperated.

Rina narrowed her eyes at the blonde, lips coiling back in disgust. There was obviously something up. Any teacher who would join the class under these circumstances definitely had more to them than meets the eye. "How fake," she muttered, opening her notebook and flipping to a new page, hand cradling the pen she would use. Karma, who leant back in his chair, arms cradling the back of his head, heard her. He stared at their new teacher, suspiciously, scrutinising the blonde.

Rina's judgement in character was always correct.  
  
  


◑ ━━━━━ ▣ ━━━━━ ◐  
  
  


As per usual, Rina's intuition was correct. The day had come and gone, and their new teacher's facade dropped, revealing her to be a pompous, stuck up bitch who happened to be a professional assassin.

Class 3-E absolutely despised Irina, and Rina wasn't surprised when her assassination attempt failed. She was foolish to underestimate their teacher.

Sitting in the classroom, Irina frustratedly yelled, "Dammit! Why doesn't this podunk school had Wi-Fi?!" Having failed her assassination attempt, the blonde grew restless. She needed new men and a new plan to kill that horrid creature.

"You're trying awfully hard, Miss Bitch," commented Karma from the back, a mischievous smirk spreading across his face. "Guess he really did a number on your pride, huh?"

Irina glared at the boy, going to yell at him when Isogai spoke up. "Sensei?"

"What?"

"If you're not going to teach us anything, could you bring back Korosensei?" he asked nervously. "We've got entrance exams this year."

"Ha! You want that vicious creature to teach you?" she scoffed, looking at the students with amused incredulity. "You think your exams matter when the whole planet's at stake? Must be nice being a clueless brat! Not to mention, I understand you Class E students are the dregs of this school."

The class all flinched.

"Why even bother studying at this point? I know. How about this? If I successfully assassinate him, I'll give you five million yen each!" she offered ostentatiously, smirking at the foolish children before her. "That's far more than you'd stand to gain from a bunch of useless schoolwork!"

Rina's fingers curled around her pencil, knuckles turning white from clenching too hard. She gritted her teeth in an effort to contain the anger bubbling within her, her hunched form exuding an animosity that was like acid **—** burning, slicing, potent.

"So shut your dumb mouths and do as I **—** "

"Miss Jelavic," called a voice bereft of any warmth and kindness. "Get out."

"Huh?" Irina looked up, amusement evaporating from her eyes the moment she turned and spotted the only student glaring directly at her (excluding Karma, who was just watching with delight, unfazed by all of this).

"Who do you think you are to come here and affront us like this?" Rina snarled, scarlet eyes doused in a glacial fire, flashing with indignance and anger, much like lightning on a pitch-black night. Dread crawled up Irina's back, plunging its claws of fear into her and poisoning her insides. Irina swallowed thickly, feeling exposed. Goosebumps travelled across her body, a sensation akin to an icy wind nipping at her skin, as she saw the seer sharp intensity blazing in her eyes.

Irina would never admit it, but she was terrified.

Such a look wasn't supposed to be on a child.

"I don't care why you are here," she said, scarlet eyes boring into the blonde. "This is a place for learning before any assassinations. If you have a problem with that, I suggest packing up your bags and going back to wherever you came from."

Her tone was final and left absolutely no room for discussion.

Irina could only stare in shock, feeling the bloodlust emitting from the other children. When she still hadn't moved, Karma threw his eraser, aiming for the board beside her, so it snapped her out her daze. "You heard her. Get out." The others all threw their stuff, and she scurried out, yelling at them.

Rina sighed, leaning back in her chair.

_How pathetic._   
  
  


◑ ━━━━━ ▣ ━━━━━ ◐  
  
  


The next time they were in class, Rina narrowed her eyes as Irina stepped inside. She headed straight to the blackboard, picked up a chalk and wrote on the board. "You are incredible in bed. Repeat." The students stared at her in shock, returning to their seats. "Come on."

They attempted to repeat it hesitantly.

"When I assassinated a certain VIP in America, the first thing I did was seduce his bodyguard. Those are the words he said to me. They mean: you screw like nobody's business!"

 _Just what are you making us junior high kids say?!_ thought Nagisa with a blush expanding across his face.

Not faltered by the dead silence, Irina continued, "it's often said that the fastest way to learn another language is to get yourself a lover who speaks it." Majority of the girls and boys in the class slowly turned their heads to the back of the class, peeking a glance at the girl who knew the English language fluently.

Rina paid them no attention. On the other hand, Karma felt a scowl form on his face, deepening when he saw the hints of desire in his classmates' eyes.

"You want to know what they're feeling, so you try your hardest to understand what they say. I've had many opportunities throughout my work to learn quite a few new languages that way. Therefore, my lessons will teach you how to sweet-talk foreigners. The basics of endearing conversation, straight from a pro assassin: master them, and they'll come in handy with a real, live foreigner." Irina averted her gaze away from the students. "Let that octopus teach you what you need to know for your exams. The only thing I can teach you is practical conversation skills. And if you still don't think of me as a teacher, I'll give up on my assassination and leave. Y-You're okay with that, right? And **–** " her cheeks flushed red, fingers interlocking as she looked back at the students **–** "i'm sorry about everything else."

There was a beat of silence in the class. Rina could hear the breeze faintly giggling outside.

Laughter broke out from the students, surprising the pro assassin.

"Why so nervous?" chuckled Karma, lips spread into a wide grin, showcasing his pearly white teeth. "You were threatening to kill us a moment ago!"

Irina flinched in annoyance.

 _Things just might turn out better than expected,_ Rina thought, relaxing in her seat while the others welcomed their new teacher, who began to squabble with them once again.


End file.
